Promise of Life, Declaration of Death
by Yolonda
Summary: Two children are admitted into the hospital, ages 6 and 5-going-on-6. The younger one, a girl named Athena, needs a liver, and Poseidon, the 6 year old boy, needs a kidney. At first, everything seems to be going well. Then tragedy strikes. POTHENA!
1. Athena meets a boy

**Promise of Life, Declaration of Death**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**Quick Notes: **_**Athena's father is NOT Zeus in this story. Zeus is younger than Athena in this, so... yeah. Also, Poseidon and Athena are in NO way related! And they're six, or almost six, in 2011. I get that. I made it that way intentionally, because they didn't have hospitals in the 4th age. (Poseidon was born in and raised in the 4th age, NOT the 5th) OH! BY THE WAY, ALL MORTAL!**_

**Athena's POV**

The doctors and nursed were flocked around me, running blood tests for the surgury I as going to have in three days. I was feeling such an odd mix of excitment and mortal terror. Mostly mortal terror.

They were sticking IV's and needles in my arms, taking blood tests, and a few others I can't remember right now because of the anesthetic.

Anyway, just as they were putting in the last IV, a boy with black hair and green eyes was rolled in. The doctors and nurses immedietly crowded around him.

I felt sorry for him, but at least my torture- I mean, medical attention- was over.

When the doctors left the room, the boy was glaring at the IV stuck in his arm.

"Hey." He said. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Athena." I said. "I'm 5 going on six."

"I'm already six, but my birthday was only a month ago" The boy said. "I'm Poseidon." He said. He paused, as if he were considering saying more, then continued. "I need an organ transplant. Why are you here?" Poseidon asked.

This boy was a little strange, but I let it pass. He was friendly enough and was my age. "I also need an organ transplant. A liver." I told him.

"Kidney." He said. "I'm here for a kidney." He glared at the IV again. "Stupid torturers." He muttered. "Sticking needles in my arms, claiming it's for my own good."

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. The boy smiled and started laughing too. "What I don't get is why they have to do it _three days_ before the actual surgery" The boy said, between fits of laughter.

"It's called Pre-Op" I told him.

"I get that, but _three days_?" Poseidon said.

"I agree. Cruel and unusual _medicine_" I said, not noticing that a nurse in her early twenties had just walked in.

"Nice one!" She said. "We all hate IV's, however, your just going to have to deal with it for the next few days. Then your free to go home." She said, smiling at the two of us. She came in to talk to us about our operations and to calm any fears we might have.

"Your going to be asleep the entire time, and when you wake up, it'll be all over" She said in a sticky sweet voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I'm six, not three. Well, almost six, anyway. But I'm so close, I might as well say I am.

"Poseidon, your sister is here" She said.

"My_ sister_ is here?" He asked in surprise. Then he smiled. "Hestia? Please tell me it's Hestia!"

A woman who looked maybe 18 stepped into the room. She had chocolate brown hair and warm brown eyes. "Hey little brother" The person I assumed was Poseidon's sister.

"Hey. Hestia, this is Athena. Athena, this is my older sister and legal guardian, Hestia." Poseidon said, introducing us to each other.

"Someone's pretty enthusiastic today!" Hestia said, laughing. Poseidon grinned.

"I'm always enthusiastic. Right up until the "knock me out and cut me open" part." Poseidon said.

"Well, when you put it that way..." The nurse, Ms. Keller, said. "It does sound rather like cruel and unusual punishment. But it's for your own good."

Poseidon pretended to look heaven-ward. "Again with the "for you own good"!" He said. Then he pointed up at the sky dramatically. "But it was not you mocking me! It. Was. ZEUS!"

Hestia and Ms. Keller laughed at the boy's strange antics. "Thank you! I'll be here all week! Literally!" Poseidon said.*** **

Hestia smiled. "And then, hopefully, you can go home. Your little brother misses you"

Poseidon smiled.

"Wow, way to make his ego even bigger!" I commented sarcastically. As far as I could see, he didn't have an ego, but I could still tease him. Poseidon and Hestia burst out laughing.

"Poseidon, have you been upsetting this poor girl?" Hestia said, smiling.

"As if he could upset anybody" Ms. Keller said. "He's a little ray of sunshine!"

"I... don't have... an ego!" Poseidon said, through more fits of laughter. Then he calmed down. "But if I DO, at least I can laugh at myself!" He said, with a goofy grin on his face. I couldn't help but smile.

I managed to get out "Immature... idiot" Poseidon smiled.

"Thanks! That was exactly what I was going for!" He said, cheerfully. "And who cares if I'm acting like an immature idiot? I'm having fun"

Hestia smiled. "The house feels so empty without you. I can't believe Demeter, Hades, Hera, and Zeus didn't want to come and see you"

"You and your sibblings are named after Greek gods?" Ms. Keller asked.

Poseidon nodded. "Our parents were WAY obsessed with Greek Mythology." He said, his face becoming serious for once.

"Were? What happened to them?" Ms. Keller asked. Poseidon seemed to have gone hard of hearing.

Hestia answered for him. "Our parents... weren't the best... that's why I take care of them. I'm the oldest out of the six of us."

Poseidon nodded, looking sad. Then he bounced right back to his usual, cheerful, joking self. "What's for lunch? Hopefully not hospital food."

"How about I bring you and your friend something from the resturaunt downstairs? They have some really good, healthy stuff that follows hospital regulations for patients' family members." Hestia suggested.

"As long as it's not cereal, I'm okay" Poseidon said, grinning again.

*******I'd just like to point out that Poseidon is SIX, so he's going to be a little immature and theatrical and OOC if you go by the book's description of him.**

**Oh! And this is a Pothena FRIENDSHIP fic, BUT... it's an incredibly strong friendship, and soon Hades even jokingly calls them the "hottest new celebrity couple". You'll see later on, but no spoilers!**


	2. A sandwich and last names

**Promise of Life, Declaration of Death**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. (I'm saying PJO because you can't really say 'I don't own Greek Mythology', now can you?)**

Athena's POV

Hestia came back about ten minutes later, carrying a 12 inch ham and cheese sub snd two bottles of soda. Surgar free/low sodium, naturally.

"Here. I didn't know what you would want, so I just got some ham and cheese. Is that okay?" She asked us. We both just kind of nodded.

She unwrapped it and handed us both half. I had eaten only hospital food for breakfast, so this was like a gormet meal.

Poseidon smiled at Hestia and sat up (he was sort of leaning against the pillow). "Where are the others?" He asked.

"Zeus is at school, and Hades is at a friend's house and didn't know you were here today, as he forgot to check the calender. And Hera's also at school, at a play, and Demeter is at that community volunteer thing." She said.

Poseidon nodded, looking slightly crestfallen. Then he brightened up. "That means I get to talk to Athena all by myself without Hades and Zeus teasing me!"

The nurse and Hestia both looked ammused. "Yes, I'm sure that if they found out you were talking to a girl, it wouldn't be pleasant for you." Hestia said.

"Just get Demeter to stuff their faces with cereal." Poseidon suggested. Hestia laughed uncontrollably for about 5 seconds.

I finished my sandwhich, balled up the paper, and threw it into a trashcan. "Thank you for the sandwhich Miss... Um, Poseidon's sister?" I finished awkwardly, realizing I didn't know Poseidon's last name.

"It's Theist." She said. "But please, call me Hestia. Everybody does." She said, smiling warmly.

"So your names are Poseidon Twist and Hestia Twist?" I asked, not hearing it correctly.

"_Theist_." Hestia said. "Don't worry, it's a rather foriegn name. What's yours?" She asked.

"It's Veta. Also foreign." I said.

"Athena Veta? I like that name" Poseidon said, smiling at me. "It means _intelligent_."

Then the doctor walked in. "Okay, we need to take another blood test. But we need more blood this time."

Poseidon looked horrified. "AHH! MORE TORTURE!" He shouted. However, he let the doctor stick the needle in his arm anyway.

"I also came in to tell you about the surgury."

"If I have to listen to one more person say that it will all be over when I wake up, I might loose it!" Poseidon said, slumping against the back of his bed.

"Are you scared?" Hestia asked.

Poseidon stopped to think about that. "A little, I guess." He said, looking depressed. I had a feeling it was a lot more than a little.

Hestia looked at me. "I guess I'm a litle scared, too..." I admitted. "But everybody is repeating the same thing!"

"I understand that. I came here to tell you what's actually going to happen. Your both in the same room because the liver and kidney are from the same person." The doctor said. "Miss Veta-"

"Athena" I interrupted. "Call me Athena."

"Athena, the doctors are going to take out your liver and use the new one."

"Actually, just a piece of the new one" I interrupted. "The entire thing would be too big for my body."

The doctor looked at me for a second, annoyed that he had been corrected by a six year old. "And Poseidon, the doctors-"

"Surgeon" I corrected under my breath. I didn't like this doctor very much.

"Are going to take out your broken kidney and give you the new one. Then you and Athena will be admitted to recovery. If everything goes according to plan, you should be in and out in about a week."

Little did any of us know, NOTHING would be going according to plan...


	3. Evil subway station of DEATH

**Promise of Life, Declaration of Death**

**Disclaimer:**

**Poseidon: Seriously? _Six_?**

**Me: Shut up. The mortals like reading it.**

**Athena: _Five_?**

**Me: You shut up too, Athena. I don't own PJO! **

_Athena's POV_

After the doctor finished explaining the surgery to the two of us, I started to feel really sleepy.

Hestia smiled when I started to yawn and pulled my blanket up to my shoulders. I had enough time to mutter a quick "thank you" before I fell asleep.

I have no idea why, but I started dreaming of green-eyed owls doing the chicken dance and eating ham and cheese sandwiches.

I have no idea how the chicken dance made its way into my dream.

_Poseidon's POV_

After I was completely sure Athena had fallen asleep, I turned to Hestia.

"Her birthday is tomorrow." I told her. Hestia smiled.

"I'll take you down to the gift shop. Since this is just pre-op, the doctor's won't throw a huge fit. And besides, they took out the IVs for the night." She whispered.

I nodded and smiled, carefully climbing down from my bed. Athena turned over in her sleep and muttered something about dancing chicken. I grinned, imagining dancing chicken in my head.

Actually, not to far off from what I'm normally thinking. The doctor calls this "AHDD" or something like that. I hadn't been paying attention.

Hestia and I snuck down the hall, okay, we _walked_ down the hall, but I had been humming the _Mission Impossible_ song the entire time. It was sneaking to me.

"Do you know what you're going to get her?" Hestia asked.

I thought about it, the dancing chicken, her name, and how she seemed incredibly smart. "Yeah, I have a pretty good idea." I said, looking at a row of stuffed animals.

I saw the one I wanted to give her and pointed to it. It was at the top, so Hestia picked me up so I could get it. Then I looked at a necklace that I thought would go with it.

"Who's this for?" The cashier asked, wrapping it up.

"For a friend. She's a patient here, and she needs an organ transplant, like me." I told him. "Where getting them from the same person, so our surgery is the day after her birthday."

I put on my best "I'm-only-six-and-therefore-I-don't-have-enough-money-to-pay-for-this-but-it's-for-a-good-cause" grin.

"Surgery the day after? What a great birthday present." The cashier said. He smiled at me. "For a friend, huh?" I nodded. "What's her name?"

"Athena. Athena Veta" I said. The cashier smiled.

"Well, because you're getting this for my niece, I'll let you have it for free." He said, handing me the box. He looked around and leaned towards me. "But don't tell anyone" He whispered, smiling.

I nodded gratefully and left, but not without noticing a few black stuffed horses they had. One of them, the one at the very top, had grey eyes. It was the only one that was different; all the others had brown eyes.

I smiled, thinking that Athena's gift was also the only one that was different.

_Athena's POV_

I woke up the next day to see Aphrodite and Artemis, my older sisters, staring at me, their faces maybe 3 inches from mine.

"AH!" I shouted in surprise.

Aphrodite and Artemis smiled and pulled back. "Well, look who's up!" Artemis said, hugging me.

"Your breath smells like ham." Aphrodite commented, also hugging me.

"Luckily, your big sisters brought you some stuff from home." Artemis said, handing me a bag.

I took the stuff out and lay them on my bed. "My toothbrush, that book I was reading, a tube of toothpaste, what's up with all the tooth stuff? Some floss… why is there make-up in here?" I asked, looking pointedly at Aphrodite.

She shrugged. "Must have fallen out of my purse."

"And… OHMYGODS A CAKE!" I shouted in joy. "Thank-you!"

"I figured you might want to share it with your boyfriend." Aphrodite said, nodding towards the sleeping Poseidon.

"Boyfriend?" Artemis asked. "Athena, is there something we should know?" She asked playfully.

"Were just friends!" I protested.

Aphrodite ruffled my hair. "Oh, just wait kiddo. In a few years, friends that are boys will be the same thing as boyfriends."

Artemis fake gasped. "You mean there _aren't_ people who have chosen to _never date_?" She said, pointing to herself.

I smiled, knowing what this meant. "Aphrodite, did you try to set her up again?" I asked.

Aphrodite, who was now brushing my long black hair, merely smiled. "In my defense, the boy was cute."

I glanced at Hestia.

"Now, now, Aphrodite. I'm sure that Athena is much more interested in seeing you two than spending her day talking about boys." Hestia said, though she _did_ have a ghost of a smile on her face.

I nodded my thanks. Just then, Aphrodite was poking Poseidon in the shoulder.

"Time to get up! Do you want to _miss_ your girlfriend's birthday party?" Aphrodite asked. Hestia, Artemis and I rolled our eyes.

Poseidon shot up faster than a rocket. "GAH! EVIL SUBWAY STATION OF _DEATH!_"

"Knew I shouldn't have let you watch that movie…" Hestia said.

"Like I said, did you want to miss your girlfriend's birthday?" Aphrodite asked.

"Were just friends!" he said.

"Yeah, uh huh" Aphrodite said. "My uncle called. He said something about a six year old boy with black hair and green eyes buying a certain girl a present for her birthday at 11:30 at night."

Poseidon blushed and took out a box. "Happy birthday, Athena." He said, handing it to me.

I looked at him, and then opened it slowly. I gasped in surprise. "Thank-you!" I said, engulfing him in a hug.

He smiled. "Do you like it?" He asked. I nodded, taking out the owl.

It had green eyes that matched Poseidon's and its feather's were grey and spotted with black, which matched my eyes. It had a graduation hat on its head and it was holding a book in one wing.

And around its neck was a gold necklace with a seashell on it. "Athena and Poseidon" I said. "An owl and a seashell." I smiled at him. "You got this idea from our namesakes, didn't you?"

Poseidon grinned. "Except we get along a lot better than they do."

Aphrodite smiled and said, "Well, I have to get back to my school or else the teacher will have a fit. But hey, I can get a note up front, and the principal knows my little sister is in the hospital. I'm going to leave you two love-birds alone."

"WE ARE NOT LOVE-BIRDS!" Poseidon and I shouted in unison.

"Yeah, whatever you say, lil' sis." Aphrodite said. Artemis hugged me one last time and smiled at Poseidon.

"Thank you for taking care of my little sister." She said. She turned to leave, but then looked back. "And you know, for once I might agree with Aphrodite."

Poseidon said something like "Um… uh… a…" He started blushing again; Aphrodite, who was in the hall, smiled knowingly.

When they finally left, Poseidon looked at me. "Are they always like this?" He asked.

"Most of the time, yes." I told him. "You know, I got you something too." I said, taking a box out of my book bag.

"You didn't have to get me anything." He said. "But thank-you."

"My uncle works here. He let me get it for free." I told him. Poseidon smiled.

"Trust me, I know." He said, opening the box.

Hestia saw it and smiled. "Oh, look, Poseidon. She got you that horse you were staring at last night."

Poseidon took out the black horse with grey eyes and held it to his stomach, making it walk. He grinned hugely. "Thank-you for the horse!"

I couldn't help but smile back. His cheerful attitude was contagious! "I figure if the both of us are going to be in surgery tomorrow, you might want something to bring with you for good luck. And besides, Poseidon created horses."

"And, the color grey is associated with wisdom." Poseidon said. "Thanks! I love it!" He said, laughing at how Aphrodite's tube of forgotten make-up he was using as a person kept on falling off. "Now the evil subway station worker of death can't get me in the operating room!"

"Evil subway station worker of death?" I asked Hestia.

"I let him watch a movie the day before he got admitted. It was called "Evil Subway Station of Death". I told him that it would give him nightmares with the upcoming surgery, but his brothers convinced him to watch it anyway."

"I'm assuming it was about a haunted subway station?" I asked.

"And a possessed ticket master who sucks on children's blood from a nearby hospital." Hestia said. "Zeus and Hades chose it on purpose."

I nodded, glancing suspiciously at a few doctors.


	4. Athena reads Twilight and a Code Red

**Promise of Life, Declaration of Death**

**Disclaimer:**

**Poseidon: I can't believe you did that.**

**Me: Aw, come on! If you two were six and mortal and didn't hate each other, you would have done the same thing!**

**Athena: This is amusing to read, that's the only reason why Zeus hasn't incinerated you yet.**

**Poseidon: And it's going to get a whole lot more amusing for Zeus, because you plan to-**

**Me: SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT MY FELLOW READERS AND WRITERS KNOWING ABOUT THAT YET! *Hits Poseidon with an anvil.* **

**Athena: That should shut him up. *Looks at the un-moving Poseidon* Is he going to be alright?**

**Me: He'll be fine. Anyway, I don't own PJO! Or any other characters mentioned. Like Billy the Kid, for instance.**

**Poseidon: Ugh… Uhh… Gah.. **

**Athena: Your sure he's alright?**

**Me: Um… I don't-**

**Apollo: DOCTOR APOLLO COMING THROUGH!**

**While Apollo fixes a good-sized gash I put in Poseidon's head, enjoy the show!**

_Athena's POV, day of the operation:_

The more Poseidon and I talked, the more we found out we had in common. We were both dyslexic, and we both had ADHD (though he was more compulsive). We even went to the same school, but I had never really noticed him before because while we were in the same grade and team, he was in the class across the hall from mine. And, we already knew about why we were here.

Poseidon was talking about the movie "Evil Subway Station of Death".

"-And the vampire ticket guy was all _bang bang bang "I'm going to suck your blood!"_ so the cop and the surgeon cut him with a scalpel and he saw his own blood and started to drink it and his other head began to eat his arm, and Billy the Kid took the one guy's club and hit the vampire dude's accomplice, the subway driver, and-"

I started to tune him out. Don't get me wrong, his sound effects and gestures and acting were great, but it isn't so great when he spends an hour telling you what happened and his reaction to _EVERY LITTLE DETAIL_.

I was almost glad when the doctor, surgeon and anesthesiologist came in because my eyes were starting to glaze over. However, part of me was scared because this is the part of the procedure you can't control.

"Alright, sign these" The doctor said, giving Hestia and my mother a piece of paper.

"What's that?" Poseidon asked.

"It's a wavier." Hestia said.

"It says, basically, if you die on the operating table it's not our fault." The doctor said.

Hestia glared. "Wow, what a great way to work. Make the _six year old children_ even more terrified." She said, shoving the wavier back into the doctor's hands.

My mom looked the paper over again and signed it, handing it to the doctor. "If my daughter has ANYTHING wrong with her after this…" She let her threat hang in the air.

The doctor looked away. "The operations are in two hours." He said, walking away stiffly. The surgeon and the anesthesiologist followed. My mom excused herself and left. She was going to a court house in Greece and couldn't miss her plane; she's in this legal thing with my dad.

"Hey, Poseidon?" I asked. Poseidon looked up from playing with his horse. "Are you scared?"

Poseidon nodded. "I'm just hoping it won't hurt." He picked up my owl and handed it to me. "Take that with you into surgery." He said, smiling. "It can be your good luck charm."

I smiled back and hugged the owl to my side. "Thanks." I said, playing with the seashell necklace.

Then, right out of the blue, Poseidon said, "I wonder what the gods Poseidon and Athena would say if they were in our position."

"Probably try to outdo each other in a contest." I told him.

"_My liver is better than your kidney!_ No, my kidney is better than your liver! _Shut up you old geezer!_" Poseidon said, imitating two old people arguing.

Hestia smiled. "Don't let our grandparents hear that" She said.

Poseidon fake-pouted. Then he looked up and smiled. As I've said before, his cheerful attitude is contagious. I found myself smiling along with him.

Then, the nurse, Ms. Keller came in. _(I got a review saying that Keller meant the devil or demon. Don't worry, she's not a monster.)_

"Dr. Acula's been grumpy this entire week" She said. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"Dr. Acula? Doesn't that spell Dracula?" Poseidon asked.

Ms. Keller looked into the hall. "Yeah, I guess it does spell Dracula. Don't worry, he won't suck your blood."

Wrong thing to say. "AH! EVIL SUBWAY STATION OF DEATH ALL OVER AGAIN!" He shouted, diving under his blanket. Then his hand reached up and felt around for his horse. He grabbed it and shot his hand back under.

"Have you ever considered decaf coffee?" Ms. Keller said, smiling.

Poseidon's head popped up. "I don't drink coffee." He said.

Ms. Keller looked at Hestia. "It was a movie his brothers convinced him to watch." Hestia explained.

"Let me guess, "_Evil Subway Station of Death_"?" Ms. Keller asked. "I saw that movie. It was actually pretty good. Scary, but good."

"I heard they have a second one coming out!" Poseidon said enthusiastically.

"Well, don't watch it if your coming to a hospital." Ms. Keller said. "And a second one already? It just came out about a month ago."

Poseidon nodded. "It's called "_Evil Subway Station of Death II, the Vampire's Daughter_"."

"He loves scary movies." Hestia explained.

Ms. Keller nodded. "Right, so, enough talk about movies. I came in to check your height and weight to determine how much anesthetic you need." She said. "Who's first?"

Poseidon and I pointed to each other. Ms. Keller smiled. "No needles, I promise."

Poseidon raised his hand. Ms. Keller led him out into the hall.

A few minutes later, she made a note on the clipboard at the end of his bed. Then she motioned for me.

She took my height, weight, and then used a chart and calculator to figure out how much I needed. "Athena, since your birthday was just yesterday, I'm using a chart for a five year old. I hope you don't mind." She said. "But you can't magically develop from a five year old to six in a day, even if it was your birthday." She said, smiling apologetically. I nodded. This made perfect sense.

She was about to lead me to my room, when a voice I recognized called out. "_Athena_?"

I turned around. "Iris!" I shouted.

"I haven't seen you in forever! What are you doing here?" Iris asked.

"Surgery." I said. "Liver transplant."

"Aw… that sucks." Iris said. "But I have some good news!"

I cheered up instantly. Her family traveled a lot, so I didn't get to see her. "My family's staying here permanently!"

I smiled. "That's great! Why are you here?" I asked.

"My dad; he retired from the military and wants to get a job here." Iris said.

I nodded. "And your mom still works at Rainbow Organic?"

"Rainbow Organic Food for Life. R.O.F.L" She said, pointing to her shirt.

"Well, Iris, nice to meet you. But Athena's having her operation soon, so I need to get her back to her room before Dr. Acula comes back."

Iris looked thoughtful. "Dr. Acula? Doesn't that spell Dracula?"

Ms. Keller threw her hands up. "Everyone's noticed that but me!"

"Well, good luck Athena. Don't let Dracula suck your blood!" Iris said, giving me a hug.

About an hour later, they injected anesthetic into my system and put the mask on my face. I was rolled down to the operating room, with the owl Poseidon gave me curled in my arm, and the last thought in my mind was of two places: 1, I was excited to see Iris at school next week, and 2, I hoped Poseidon would be okay.

Little did I know; Poseidon wasn't going to be okay. In fact, neither of us would be. The difference was… I made it out alive.

Hestia's POV

"Ma'am, the operation was a success." The surgeon said. "For both of them."

To say I was happy would be an understatement. Over the past few days, I considered Athena a member of the family, and Poseidon was my little brother. "That's great!" I said. "Can I see them?"

"Well, they just got off the anesthetic, so they're going to be a little bit loopy, but yeah. They're in recovery. Room 206" He said.

I thanked him and left the waiting room.

I entered the room just in time to hear Poseidon shouting "HOW DARE YOU DEFY MONKEY'S AWESOMENESS!" at an unsuspecting doctor. *

"I apologize… for him… he's coming off of anesthetic." I told her. She nodded, her eyes wide, and ran out of the room.

"AHH! VAMPIRE SMILEY FACES AND DANCING FURNITURE!" Poseidon shouted. *

"HIS NAME IS EDWARD! _EDWARD!_" Athena said. *

"Someone's been reading Twilight" I muttered. "Okay, calm down you two!"

"I WILL NOT EAT AT MOE'S!" Poseidon shouted. "STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" *

"IF YOU'VE BEEN HURT AT WORK? CALL ON THE HOTLINE? WHAT IS THIS DRIVEL?" *

"SILENCE!" I shouted. Poseidon and Athena shut up. "Thank you. Now, calm down and I'll get you something to eat."

Poseidon and Athena nodded.

I walked out and waved a doctor over. "They're still being affected by the anesthetic. Can you watch them while I get them something to eat?"

"Sure, but ma'am? The anesthetic should have worn off about 10 minutes ago."

I nodded. "Yeah, but Poseidon's a little small for his age group." I told him. I went to go and get them something to eat.

When I came back, both of them were sleeping.

"I don't know what happened. They were shouting something about that book "Catcher in the Rye" making no sense *, and then suddenly they fell asleep. Poseidon woke up once in a mad laughing fit for no apparent reason, but then fell back asleep again." The doctor said. "Ma'am, while this behavior is normal for some patients, I would watch them. I understand Athena's mother is out of the country, so you're going to have to watch both of them for the time being. Besides, don't you and her mother know each other?"

"She was my friend in college." I replied. "Her name is Métis."

The doctor nodded. "And I knew Athena as a baby. Métis probably won't mind me watching her daughter. If anything comes up that requires a parent or guardian to decide what to do, I'll call her." I told him. "I wouldn't mind watching them both."

I stepped inside the recovery room and sat down. About half an hour later of reading a book and getting the tangles out of Athena's hair, Poseidon woke up.

"Hey, little brother." I said cheerfully. "How are you doing?"

"Can you call a nurse?" Poseidon asked. "My stomach hurts." He said.

"Are you hungry?"

"No."

"Thirsty?"

"No."

"Are you sick?"

"I don't know."

"Could it be that you were just in surgery?" I asked.

Poseidon nodded. "Probably."

"There's a button right there for pain medication."

"This red one?" Poseidon asked, hitting the red one.

"No! No, that was the-"

_Screeeech! Screeeeeeeech! Screeeech! Screech! _

"Code red" I finished.

/./././././././././././././././././2 Hours Later\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\.\

"You just had to hit the button, didn't you?" Athena asked Poseidon.

**I don't own this and don't mean it any harm. I wanted to choose things that everybody is familiar with and we all find SO annoying.**

**And deep down, we all find the "Hurt at work" commercials annoying. Some of this stuff was completely random, like the monkey comment. And the "vampire smiley faces and dancing furniture" thing DID happen to one of my relatives when they were on anesthetics after a surgery. **

**Apollo: *Looks at unconscious Poseidon* An anvil, huh?**

**Athena: Yeah. *Looks at me* Are you sure he'll be fine?**

**Me: *Waves her off* Yeah, yeah, just a flesh wound.**


	5. The mystery deepens

**Promise of Life, Declaration of Death**

**Disclaimer:**

**Poseidon: Ugh… Ow… uh…**

**Athena: Something tells me he's not fine.**

**Me: What makes you say that? **

**Athena: He hasn't moved in a week…?**

**Me: Hmm? Oh, that? Don't worry, that's normal.**

**Athena: In what situation?**

**Me: Okay! Athena, you shut up so I can do the disclaimer! I don't own PJO! There, I said it. Oh, and this chapter may be short! But don't worry; this is going to have a lot of chapters, so I'm not worried about size for this particular chapter. **

_Athena's POV_

After we got back inside after the firemen declared there was no fire, it was about 2 in the morning. As soon as my head crashed down on the pillow, I was asleep.

Only to be woken up about three hours later by a certain green-eyed boy screaming his head off right next to my ear.

Hestia, who had been allowed to stay the night because of special circumstances, was immediately up.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

Poseidon screamed again. By this point, one of the overnight nurses was in the room.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked, sticking an IV into his arm.

"Everywhere" He said. A fit of coughing racked his body.

The nurse hit the green button this time, injecting pain medication into his system. "I'm not sure what's happening… maybe the body is rejecting the kidney? But with the last test, everything was fine…" She said, mumbling to herself.

About an hour of screaming, having pills shoved down his throat, IVs, and a blood test, Poseidon finally calmed down. The nurse looked him over and found nothing visibly wrong. She turned to Hestia. "If this happens again, don't hesitate to press the "call doctor" button." She told her. Hestia nodded.

"What happens if it happens again?" I asked. The nurse looked at me.

"You're supposed to be asleep."

"Kind of hard to sleep with a boy screaming his head off right next to your ear." I commented.

The nurse nodded, like she hadn't considered this. "I'm not sure what we'll do if it happens again, but don't worry. This has happened before in organ transplants. Not _exactly_ like this, some symptoms don't match, but that could be his age. I'll ask Dr. Acula-"

"The vampire guy"

"Right, the vampire guy, what he thinks after giving him a report of his symptoms." The nurse said. "And, hopefully, it comes back normal."

"And _hopefully_ it comes back normal?" Hestia exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I'm hoping he's fine, but I'm not going to immediately jump to conclusions. Besides, a five year old girl-"

"Six" I corrected.

"Six year old girl got a liver from the same person, and she's not showing anything unusual." The nurse said. Hestia nodded and looked at Poseidon.

"But he's going to be okay, right?" I asked. The nurse hesitated and nodded.

"Yeah… he'll be fine."

I nodded, trying to ignore the hole opening up in my chest. _(Not literally, she's worried about him) _

The nurse left, glancing back at Poseidon and making a note on his chart.

"Get well soon… friend." I murmured. I could have sworn to Zeus that Poseidon smiled in his sleep.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it was a little short!**

**Athena: *Looks at unconscious Poseidon* Um… *Looks at Apollo* You're the god of medicine.**

**Apollo: *Looks up from comic book* I know. I called for back up.**

**Athena: Backup? It's been a week!**

**Hades: *Pokes Poseidon* If I didn't know better, I'd say he was dead.**

**Athena: Just because the author hit him with an anvil?**

**Hades: Yup. **


	6. Hela Keller and Daughter

**Hey guys! I know I said I wouldn't be back, but things have changed.**

**I'm looking over everything again, and I saw I over reacted. I plan on coming back, but I may not update until May. I still have to finish school, and study for tests, and the whole nine yards. I'm going to college and high school at the same time, and it's stressful.**

**I actually planned on being back earlier, but I just couldn't find time.**

**I was reading the reviews over, too, and I saw that this story was a favorite. And since it's a little better off than my others, and I know where I left off and where I want to go with it (and because it's a personal favorite of mine), I figured I should update it. DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters.**

**Without further ado, I present the latest chapter! Also, warning, this one isn't fluff. There are hints of child abuse!**

**Nurse Keller's POV**

I walked out the room, feeling worn down and heavy. I was trained for this sort of thing, true, but I could never ignore it when a child was in pain. It just wasn't right.

One might question why I decided to work a children's hospital if I couldn't stand seeing them in pain. I've heard several of my colleagues whisper that, behind my back. One asked me outright why I was here, and went on to insinuate that I couldn't do my job properly.

They didn't understand that it was more than that. I worked here because I cared for these kids, and as much as I hated my job, I also loved my job because I had the knowledge and the tools to fix a broken body and soothe a child in need. I've also seen several kids die, but the two that stood out in my heart and hurt the most were little Percy and Annabeth.

Percy had been admitted to the hospital 2 years before. Apparently, his step-father, a man named Gabe, had gotten drunk while Percy's mother had been at work. During a poker game, he and his buddies thought it would be fun to hurt the little one. One of them, Eddie, called the police, but by the time the paramedics got there Percy's injuries had been too great in number and severity. He'd died on the operating table- his heart just gave up.

I could still remember holding and hugging his distraught mother, and offering her a place to stay to get away from the monster she'd married. She didn't have much money since her husband gambled it all away, so I'd paid for the little boy's funeral. It took some work, but she found the courage to leave Gabe and she moved in with me. She was still my roommate, and my best friend, but she was still torn inside.

I understood what she was going through- my own little girl and my husband had both died in a car accident, when a drunk driver had hit them on the way to her school. Annabeth had always been a bright little kid, just like Sally told me Percy was, and two promising lives had been stolen from them because of two groups of men who'd hit the alcohol too hard. It was part of the reason I despised Dr. Acula's habits so much.

I quickly dried the tears from my eyes. I couldn't afford to break down at work, but it was hard to keep these kids straight. Percy, Poseidon. Annabeth, Athena.

I spotted Dr. Acula out of the corner of my eye. He was preparing to leave, I could tell. When he was me coming, he starting packing his work bag faster, hoping I wouldn't see.

I grabbed his shoulder, and he abandoned his efforts. He turned around in a huff, crossed his arms, and looked at me with that vulturous face of his. "What is it this time, Hela*?" he snapped.

I wrinkled my nose. His breath reeked, and his eyes were bloodshot. He was an aging man, a widower, and he'd fallen into depression years ago. As far as I knew, he'd recovered, or else he wouldn't be here, but it was hard for him.

_But that didn't give him an excuse to shirk his duties as a doctor and ignore his patients_, I thought, and I squared my shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"The little boy in room 206. He's having strange symptoms and he's in severe pain, and I fear there may be some complications from the operation." I told him. His eyes narrowed.

"Severe pain.", he repeated. "_Severe pain_? There was once a girl in here with a nosebleed, and you said it was _severe pain_! You don't know what that is!"

Inside, I was reeling. No one here knew about my little girl, no one knew that I was well aware of what pain was.

He shoved his bag at me, took the charts in my hands, and stormed off towards the aforementioned room.

**Hestia's POV**

Hestia sat down next to the sleeping form of her brother. She was very protective of him- perhaps a little _over_protective- but she couldn't help it. She could still remember the things their father had done after their mother's death, and she didn't want anything like that to ever befall her siblings again.

She sighed. She could feel an intense heat coming off of his prone body. _He's feverish_, she thought.

She was certain things like this weren't normal. They wouldn't be happening if he was alright. She was about to hit the "call doctor" button, when lo and behold, the doctor himself loudly let himself in, grumbling all the way.

He fumbled with his key card for a moment. When he'd succeeded in the dauntingly simple task of opening the door, he surveyed the room and it's occupants with an intense look of disinterest.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked, in a flat voice. Hestia was fretting a little. This was her _brother_ who was hurting, and the doctor seemed positively _bored_.

"He's in pain. He say's it's all over, too, not just in his lower back. And he's got a fever, also. Look, there's no way this is normal-"

"I'll get some bloodwork done and look into it, but your worries may be premature." He cut me off. "In the mean time, visiting hours are ending. I believe you said you have other siblings earlier, yes? You may want to go back home to them now."

My hands balled into fists. As much as I wanted to punch this guy in the face for blowing off my concerns, I knew he was right about my brothers and sisters. I did have to get back home, and they were probably worried sick. Grinding my teeth, I excused myself and left the room, but not before I gave my brother a kiss on the forehead. I didn't know why, but I had a bad feeling that everything was going to go very wrong, very quickly.

Putting it down to simple nerves, I walked out into the night and headed towards my car.

***Thor fans may recognize this name. Hela is the name of one of Loki's children (his daughter, I believe), and if I remember correctly she's half dead and oversees Hel. (No, that's spelled right- that's what it's called in Norse Mythology) I figured this name was good for her, because as I said before, some of her patients have died. Also, some of you pointed out that Keller means monster or demon, so I thought I had to address that. And you know what's funny? Her name was originally going to be Helen, then I remembered Helen Keller was a real person. So I decided Hela was a good substitute. All in all, I like the way her name turned out. **


End file.
